


watch the moonflower bloom

by doomedtimelines



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alcohol Mentions, Alternate Universe - Human, Crush at First Sight, Ear Piercings, F/F, First Meetings, Humanstuck, Past Lives (implied), Pre-Relationship, i wrote this a few years ago but its edited, kanaya pierces rose's ears, this is the second fic i've written with a lalonde in a bathroom at a party wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26223514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doomedtimelines/pseuds/doomedtimelines
Summary: Rose's attempt at piercing her ears is interrupted by a stranger.Is she a stranger?
Relationships: Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam
Kudos: 13





	watch the moonflower bloom

**Author's Note:**

> "Down empty streets sniffing glue me and you  
> Blank open eyes watch the moonflower bloom  
> It's been a long hard twenty-year summer vacation  
> All these twenty years trying to fill the void"  
> \- crack baby, mitski
> 
> i wrote this when i was 14. it was gonna be part of something larger but i honestly don't remember what.

The bathroom door clicks shut behind her and Rose lets the world fall away. The strap of her heels chafe against her skin. Her breathing is the only sound, save for the faint pulsing of music. But that is outside the threshold, and therefore immaterial.

Her skirt rides up her thighs as she leans over the dirty sink, inspecting her reflection, one hand on the counter for balance. Hairline fractures divide her face into fifths. She fluffs up her golden hair and rolls her neck, produces a tube of night-purple lipstick from the purse slung over her shoulder. Roxy had stolen it for her sixteenth birthday, and she still cherishes the damn thing, worn out as it is.

She runs it once over her lips before replacing it and lining up a pen, a needle, a cork and a set of faux-gold earrings (twin suns) on the counter.

She starts with the pen first, marking a single dot on either earlobe. Then she presses the cork behind her--

The door opens, and Rose freezes, the spell broken, fingers millimetres from the needle.

The sliver of an eye peeks through; the sweep of a cheekbone is reflected in the mirror. The door creaks further ajar, revealing a woman in the widened gap. Her own heels give her three inches over Rose.

“Pardon me if I am overstepping.” Perfectly accentless. Every word carefully selected. Strangely familiar. “But would you like help?”

Rose is uncharacteristically slow on the uptake--she blames it on the presence of the lovely viridian woman before her.

“Some assistance would be appreciated. If you're offering.”

The woman shuts the door behind her, exiting the world and sealing herself in Rose’s realm. "Lucky for you, I am."

Rose takes a step to the side as the woman turns on the sink and lathers her hands with soap. “My name is Kanaya.”

“Lalonde. Rose Lalonde.”

“Well, Lalonde Rose Lalonde, have you sterilized your earlobe?"

Rose stifles a very undignified giggle (she blames that one on the alcohol) and lies, “Of course I have. What do you take me for?” The bathroom has suddenly become cramped, now encompassing the gravity of two in it.

In the mirror, Kanaya narrows her eyes. Rose turns and leans backwards, palms pressed flat against countertop, its edge pressing into the base of her spine. This is certainly not a maneuver to avoid that discerning gaze.

Kanaya turns off the sink and dries her hands. She picks up the cork and needle and then she’s close--so close they are sharing heat and breath, so close she’s sure Kanaya can smell the alcohol on her breath. Her eyes (hard shards of obsidian, lined with swooping emerald) are completely focused, and Rose finds herself lost in them.

There’s no warning, no on-three, just a sudden _prick,_ and Rose gasps, more out of shock than pain.

The corner of Kanaya’s mouth lifts in what Rose presumes to be satisfaction. She picks up one of the earrings, undoes the backing with impeccable green nails, and slides it into Rose’s new piercing in a single, practiced second. The feeling is slick, not unlike trying and failing to grasp a bar of soap, except that one moment of time is contained inside her earlobe.

“One down.” There’s a smile in her voice. Rose sighs, tips her head back. Kanaya’s hand suddenly cradles the back of her skull to straighten it again. It recedes as swiftly as it came, but the fleeting moment of intimacy leaves Rose dizzy.

The pressure of the cork returns behind Rose’s ear, and she closes her eyes, lashes fluttering gently. Kanaya shifts forward; her skirt brushes against Rose’s bare shins. _The fabric is expensive,_ Rose notes. _Or at least feels that way._ _Far nicer than anything we could afford._

She is much more prepared for the pain when it comes this time. Rose keeps her eyes shut, even as Kanaya slides the earring in.

"All done."

Rose peers at Kanaya through slitted eyelids, letting her lashes blur her features into a hazy portrait. They are so close. Closer than she lets most, even after she's known them for years. As a rule, she holds people at an arm's length, metaphorically and literally.

And yet this stranger has undone Rose's walls in minutes.

Kanaya's ribs press against hers. Rose opens her eyes properly, to find that Kanaya's face has gone slack and smooth.

Rose's hand drifts upwards of its own volition, hovering over her warm brown skin before daring to settle against her cheek, the pads of her fingers spreading curiously (like waves flowing over sand, Rose thinks dreamily). Kanaya leans into the touch, closing her eyes, appearing utterly content. Rose's lips part--to speak, or maybe to close to gap between them--when, horror of all horrors, Rose's phone buzzes.

Both are suddenly aware of their impropriety. Kanaya's eyes snap open and she jerks away as Rose grabs for her phone, missing once before she can grip it.

"I'm sorry, it's my brother, I have to go,” Rose hears herself say, as she stumbles back, earlobes still raw, tearing her eyes away from Kanaya. Her heart pounds. A lump solidifies in her throat and she feels like her entire body is burning. She doesn't know why the thought of leaving this near-stranger (Near stranger? They met less than ten minutes ago. The only thing they know about each other is their names.) behind brings tears to her eyes, makes her feel like she's choking, like she's drowning, but it does.

She’s— _ found  _ something in Kanaya. She doesn’t know what. She knows it’s important. She knows the thought of never seeing her again scares her.

"Here."

Rose looks up. Kanaya is offering her a strip of paper. It's her phone number. Rose snatches it out of her hand, clutches it like a lifeline. She wants to cry out of sheer joy.

 _Thank you,_ she wants to say. _Thank you thank you thank you. You have cauterized the wound of my soul by merely touching me. Every word you speak pumps breath into my lungs. I will never see the color green without thinking of you._

She says none of these things, because she has known Kanaya for an incremental amount of time, but has the strangest feeling that she’s written those very same words before. Perhaps in a letter, but Rose cannot think of another person she would send it to, other than a stranger that offered to help pierce another stranger's ears.

But that would be absurd, and so she dismisses the thought entirely, oblivious to the fact that something similar is running through Kanaya’s head.

**Author's Note:**

> kanaya could've just gone with rose. don't blame the characters for that one. it's on me.


End file.
